The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Progressive Democrat Newsletter Issue 289

The big news this week is both in the Middle East and in the Midwest.

In the Middle East protests continue to grow in Bahrain, Lybia (of all places), Jordan (despite a reformist cabinet being sworn in), and Yemen. Meanwhile the dictators in these nations are trying to suppress the protests with bullets. The situation remains in flux and the reformist spirit has even spread to several African nations, most recently in Djibouti. It still remains unclear where these protests will go and who will benefit the most. In Egypt the military is largely maintaining control while pushing aside the dictators they had propped up. So far no real change has happened but on the good side the fears that the Muslim Brotherhood will come out on top after the dictators fall have not materialized yet. This is history in the making but you never know what history will bring until it happens.

Turning to the Midwest we are seeing working class Americans finally getting fed up with stupid and mean-spirited Teabagger Republicans. In Wisconsin and Ohio pro-union protests are the story of the week. And Democratic legislators have been defying the Republicans and blocking their efforts at union-busting. And progressives are considering a move to recall some of the extremist Teabagger Republicans in Wisconsin (see here and here). Can it be working class protesters in Tunisia and Egypt have inspired America's working class? I believe we are seeing the beginning of a resurgence of progressivism in the US and the retreat of the Teabaggers...but only if we fight back hard. I particularly ask my readers to donate through my Liberals Strike Back in 2012 Act Blue Page. In particular I think now is a critical time to donate to Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot PAC, Tom Harkin's To Organize a Majority PAC, and Al Franken's Midwest Values PAC, both of which I include on my Act Blue Page. Another crital effort I include on the page is Progressive Majority. Together those three organizations can help the resurgence of progressivism in the Midwest really take off. But only if we give them the support they need.

The People for the American Way is leading in support of working class Americans in Wisconsin, even sending care packages to support the pro-union protesters. From People for the Amreican Way:

Wisconsin's Tea Party Governor, Scott Walker, is leading a brazen assault on state employees and workers' rights, using a budget deficit -- created by his own corporate tax cuts -- as the excuse.

We must fight this! Tens of thousands of Wisconsinites have been protesting at the state capitol. We stand in solidarity with them and the working people who are under attack. We also stand in solidarity with Wisconsin's Democratic state senators, who have left the state in order to prevent the Republican majority in the legislature from ramming the governor's proposal through.

We'll also be sending a care package to the state senators who have left Wisconsin so that they can't be compelled by state law enforcement to show up in the Capitol and allow the bill to pass. After you sign the statement, you can chip in $5 toward the care package if you'd like.

In addition to attacking state employees' benefits, Gov. Walker's proposal is aimed at stripping their rights to organize and bargain collectively -- a clear example of right-wing union busting. It's a blatant effort by Republicans to destroy institutions that benefit their political opponents ... but the casualties will be real people and families.

All across the country, the Right Wing is waging a campaign to demonize public employees and blame them for budget shortfalls. The lies they are telling are appalling. It's an easy enough strategy to understand -- Republicans are exploiting concern about budget deficits and vilifying public employees and their bargaining rights so they can check off one more item long a part of their political to-do list: destroying unions.

P.S. Other states are now considering similar proposals to Gov. Walker's. If this union-busting, benefit-gutting plan succeeds in Wisconsin, it is sure to succeed in others. We need to send the message now, in Wisconsin, that Americans won't stand for these attacks. Sign our statement.

Please sign their statement, donate for a care package for pro-union protesters, and spread the word.

Want to do more? Show your support of the Democratic State Senators in Wisconsin who have stopped the extremist Teabagger agenda in its tracks. From Daily Kos:

By now, you’ve probably heard about the amazing protests in Wisconsin. Public sector unions are making an historic stand against both the Tea Party and the billionaire Koch brothers who finance that "grassroots" movement.

Even though you don’t live in Wisconsin, there's a way you can help. The 14 Democratic state Senators who kept the fight alive are on Act Blue, and we’ve put their party committee on our Orange to Blue 2012 page.

Republicans hold a 19-14 edge in the Wisconsin state Senate, but 20 Senators are needed for a quorum. So, in response to a Republican attempt to pass a bill making public sector unions virtually illegal, all 14 Democrats simply left the state. If even one of these Democrats had remained in Wisconsin, then s/he would have been rounded up by the police, forcibly brought to the state Capitol, and the bill would have passed. At great personal and electoral risk, these 14 Democrats are protecting workers' rights and making resistance to the Tea Party the top news story in the country.

This could be a turning point for our movement. This time the Tea Party is reacting to, and several steps behind, our activism. Similar rallies are now being planned in over a dozen other states. As the opening salvo, the outcome of this fight will go a long way toward determining the outcome everywhere.